In May 2022, the World Health Organization and Unicef published the first major report on the growing global need for assistive tech. It urges that, alongside investing in product innovation, stakeholders improve equitable access to such life-changing devices for all people with disabilities (PWDs) – one in six worldwide – regardless of socio-economic or geographical factors.

For the 253 million people globally who are blind or partially sighted, a new crop of assistive solutions promises to boost independence by safely guiding them through their daily lives. Some of these innovations borrow from autonomous vehicle technology, while others leverage latent capabilities in existing smartphones.

For both personal and professional relationships, making oneself understood is fundamental. Live captioning tools, sign language lenses for social media and widgets can overhaul existing web interfaces to ease communications for people with speech impediments or neurodiverse consumers.

The opportunity to defy real-world limitations makes virtual realms attractive to ­­many PWDs. Brands are boosting representation on metaverse platforms via an array of assistive devices for avatar customisation. Meanwhile, nascent input innovations like eye-tracking tech and neural interfaces could enable even those with severe physical impairments to engage in extended reality.